Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods among Local Communities as a Means of Conserving and Sustainably Using Natural Species and Ecosystem Biodiversity in Sabah

A pilot, capacity building project to promote sustainable livelihoods among local communities in 3 districts in Sabah. PACOS is to carry out activities such as the establishment of traditional medicinal/heritage gardens and community hunting and harvesting protocols, enrichment planting in watershed areas, and promoting organic farming to ensure that indigenous local community leaders, village elders, and knowledge-holders pass knowledge on environmental management and conservation to the next generation.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS) Trust

Country:

Malaysia

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 26,074.26

Project Number:

MAL/02/21

Start Date:

6/2002

End Date:

7/2004

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Indigenous communities are supported through community meetings, workshops and trainings to adopt alternative sustainable livelihoods such as participating in community ecotourism, processing products derived from traditional medicinal/heritage gardens and organic farming programmes.

Notable Community Participation

Indigenous communities in 5 areas from 3 districts of Sabah (Kota Belud, Kinabatangan, and Penampang) are involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project.

The community committees formed to implement, adapt and evaluate the project will include all sectors of the community - women, men, youth, and elders.

Capacity - Building Component

The project aims to follow up and build on PACOS' previous SGP project by supporting capacity building of community organisations in 5 areas (Podos, Balat, Mukim Kuamut, Kipouvo and Terian) so that they may effectively protect their environment, understand their land rights, conduct enrichment planting and silviculture, maintain tradtional medicine gardens and develop ecotourism as part of their sustainable livelihoods. These activities will be accompanied by workshops and education activities to disseminate information among the indigenous communities.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Will be discussed on a one-on-one basis by CBO and project participants over the course of the project. Also will be highlighted by the SGP NC during his M&E visits.

Project Results

The project objectives have generally been achieved. The capacity of the community in conserving and managing their BD was translated through the establishment of their traditional medicine garden, nursery, the gazzetment of the community catchment areas and zoning of their resources. The mechanism to maintain their resource and to ensure participation from all levels of the community was set through the establishment of the peoples organization in each project areas. The community traditional values and the indigenous knowledge system in managing resource were strengthened through the practice of BOMBON/TAGAL and the use of the traditional medicinal plants in their daily life. The community BOMBON/TAGAL practice received recognition from the government and was adopted by the fisheries dept.
The community was also more open to learn from each other and cooperation between leaders and the community was enhanced.
The community also realized that they had to act collectively in order to strengthen the Peoples Organization, which was formed. The community organizer is also playing the important role of facilitation motivation and mobilization for the implementation of the project.
Through the project there is also more effectiveness in the unity and cooperation through the people’s organization to do action together. The centralized activities and gathering with all the areas under the network has brought solidarity. The sharing and exchanging of knowledge on the different projects from the different areas has given the community extensive ideas and the learning process, which is beyond the project plan. The community also still holds on and practices their traditional values and indigenous knowledge system in managing resource.